HOUSTON Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials believe an inmate who escaped from a Beaumont prison is now hiding out in the Houston area.
David Puckett, 27, escaped from the Stiles Unit on Wednesday. He was last seen in the recreation yard around 6:45 p.m., and officers later found his uniform and socks on a perimeter fence near the yard.
Then, around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Puckett entered the emergency room at St. Luke s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center with bleeding lacerations on his arm.
When he spotted security, he bolted. TDCJ officials confirmed his identity through surveillance video.
Witnesses at Texas Children s Hospital also reported seeing an unknown man enter the hospital and leave without treatment Wednesday night, but officials have not yet confirmed if that man was Puckett.
TDCJ officials believe Puckett is traveling in a single-cab, white Chevy truck with Texas plates 27N-KB6. The truck has a decal on the side that reads AGS Solutions and was reported stolen from Beaumont business early Thursday morning.
Puckett is serving a 30-year sentence for aggravated assault of a public servant out of Lavaca County.
He s been in prison since February 11, 2002.
Puckett is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 155 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on Puckett s whereabouts should call police or the TDCJ Office of Inspector General at 936-437-5148.
